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book_casey's reviews
390 reviews
Bluff: Poems by Danez Smith
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
The poetry of @danez_smif has been on my shelves and in my heart for several years, and their latest collection #Bluff is an incredible addition to the canon. I heard about their break from writing (or at least from publishing) as they recalibrated what it meant to be who they are in this time and place. That discernment really shows in the work they’ve shared with us.
Something really specific to Danez that I am floored by every time is the creativity and innovation of form and design in the poems themselves. If you haven’t seen them printed on paper—or, in this case, scanned the QR code for “Metro” and been taken to a digital version because it didn’t fit in print in the way they imagined! What a gift!—there are literal layers to their genius. The piles of words (like in “more hope”) and the relentlessness of them (like in “the end of guns”) defies my ability to explain them.
Get your hands on this collection for the aforementioned, as well as “rondo” and “poem” and “Two Deer in a Southside Cemetery” and whichever of their words will be most moving for you. There is a lot in here that’s tough to stomach, but we are lucky to be alive at the same time as someone so committed to writing us through it.
Something really specific to Danez that I am floored by every time is the creativity and innovation of form and design in the poems themselves. If you haven’t seen them printed on paper—or, in this case, scanned the QR code for “Metro” and been taken to a digital version because it didn’t fit in print in the way they imagined! What a gift!—there are literal layers to their genius. The piles of words (like in “more hope”) and the relentlessness of them (like in “the end of guns”) defies my ability to explain them.
Get your hands on this collection for the aforementioned, as well as “rondo” and “poem” and “Two Deer in a Southside Cemetery” and whichever of their words will be most moving for you. There is a lot in here that’s tough to stomach, but we are lucky to be alive at the same time as someone so committed to writing us through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Injury/Injury detail
Much Ado About Baseball by Rajani LaRocca
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death
Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I know that there is a wide world of Hockey Romance Novels, for every pairing and every trope and every spice rating you could ask for. Very few of them are poignant portraits of grief and regret.
This book is about two former NHL teammates finding their way back to each other after the devastating implosion of their friendship more than a decade before. Riley was in love with Adam; Adam was afraid to be in love with Riley. Everybody got hurt.
This book is about two former NHL teammates finding their way back to each other after the devastating implosion of their friendship more than a decade before. Riley was in love with Adam; Adam was afraid to be in love with Riley. Everybody got hurt.
On page 13(!) I texted a friend that I was already crying. I immediately cared so much about these fractured men and how they were going to do the hard work of reassembling themselves and each other. I typically do not choose second-chance romances because they are flimsy and unearned. Riley and Adam *worked* their way back to each other. It was painful, and I cringed, and I read the next sentences with great trepidation, as unsure as Adam as to how Riley would react. I tell you, Rachel Reid does not miss.
You know they live happily ever after because that’s a requirement of the genre; you will be so delighted to watch them get there. They deserve it. And it’s not all sad and angsty! I laughed so hard!
In addition to grief, there are a lot of factors in Riley and Adam’s lives that might hit close to home for you. Always check the content warnings.
I was hashtag blessed to get an advance copy of this ebook via NetGalley, so many thanks to whoever decided to accept my request. 🤣 By the time this book is released on March 3, 2025, how many times do you think I’ll have re-read it? (So far, three times since receiving it two weeks ago. 🤷♀️) I’ll buddy read it with you next spring, regardless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Medical content
Minor: Alcoholism
James by Percival Everett
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this as part of a book club, and would not otherwise have chosen it, so that colors my review.
The project that this book undertakes—retelling Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and reimagining it from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man—is clever and thought-provoking. As someone who did not love Huck Finn and does not love the Americana of it all, some of this book’s excellence is lost on me.
I appreciated the choices that the author made to differentiate from the source material, and the correctives he makes to the White Savior narrative lurking therein. This book permits Jim and other enslaved people to claim their own liberation, form their own senses of self, and always be in on the joke and the subversion—rather than always the one mocked and humiliated.
The content warnings should not come as a surprise, given the subject matter, but be warned.
The project that this book undertakes—retelling Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and reimagining it from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man—is clever and thought-provoking. As someone who did not love Huck Finn and does not love the Americana of it all, some of this book’s excellence is lost on me.
I appreciated the choices that the author made to differentiate from the source material, and the correctives he makes to the White Savior narrative lurking therein. This book permits Jim and other enslaved people to claim their own liberation, form their own senses of self, and always be in on the joke and the subversion—rather than always the one mocked and humiliated.
The content warnings should not come as a surprise, given the subject matter, but be warned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Death and Death of parent
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.
I couldn’t take it. Maybe I’ll come back.
The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor by Kaitlyn Schiess
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
I am not actually the audience for this book, as I do not need to be convinced by its thesis.
Not in My Book by Katie Holt
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read a digital ARC of this book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.
This book was so charming! I was ready to give it a rave review but then at 90% there was a breakup (which I hate) that felt really melodramatic and unsatisfying.
The premise is cute. MFA classmates become enemies via aggressively critiquing each other’s work; the professor forces them to write their novel together as punishment; it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance novel that very obviously follows their own budding friendship and eventual romantic relationship; it all falls apart.
There were a lot of sweet moments and great snappy dialogue—enemies to lovers is usually good for that. There’s a scene where they are co-writing a sex scene for the book (they have not yet had sex IRL) and the tension is *perfect*. The telegraphing from their novel to their relationship got a little predictable—but it’s a romance novel so knowing what’s coming is not a dealbreaker.
Still, I convinced myself that the signs were wrong, that the breakup wasn’t coming, but I was lying to myself. Being unwilling to listen to him—after all the words they’d exchanged—didn’t ring true to me. So, I liked 90% of this book. :)
Ifa third-act breakup is your favorite, you’ll love this book, lol.
This book was so charming! I was ready to give it a rave review but then at 90%
The premise is cute. MFA classmates become enemies via aggressively critiquing each other’s work; the professor forces them to write their novel together as punishment; it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance novel that very obviously follows their own budding friendship and eventual romantic relationship; it all falls apart.
There were a lot of sweet moments and great snappy dialogue—enemies to lovers is usually good for that. There’s a scene where they are co-writing a sex scene for the book (they have not yet had sex IRL) and the tension is *perfect*. The telegraphing from their novel to their relationship got a little predictable—but it’s a romance novel so knowing what’s coming is not a dealbreaker.
Still, I convinced myself that the signs were wrong, that the
If
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent